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The Tomatometer is 60% or higher.

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Magnolia Reviews

Different and intelligent. Paul's film shows us a whole new and creative storyline. Despite being a long movie, it entertains us with several stories and characters that will somehow join in the end. It's an incredible puzzle. It is not just a reference to the excerpt from the bible.

An absolute masterpiece. P.T. Anderson, who is the most interesting and Important directors of our time, said that no other film he makes will surpass Magnolia. This instant classic is mesmerizing from beginning to end. The actors all shine but in my opinion Anderson brings out the best in Julianne Moore who's character stays with you long after the film. All that being said this film is not for everyone. Coming in at a running time of over 3 hours and the many complex characters who's different stories intersect in the most creative way, could turn off those who want to just watch mindless entertainment and not really have to get a message or take something from the experience. But if you are a film buff or just want to see excellent performances with a mind blowing premise this is a must see. I also read that Anderson came up with this movie around the songs on the equally impressive Aimee Mann. Her songs are all throughout the film and if I'm not mistaken the songs came before the film - the film was inspired by the songs used in the movie. This is my personal favorite film of all time and each time I see it I get something more out of it.So do yourself a favor and give it a try. All of Andersons movies are outstanding, but Magnolia is more than that.

Paul Thomas Anderson directs a movie about unique occurrences that happen in life that cannot be viewed as mere coincidences. The story covers various characters including a woman-seducer (Tom Cruise), a troubled drug addict (Melora Waters), a shy cop (John C. Reilly) and a former kid prodigy (William H. Macy). The camera quickly pans between each of these characters telling all of their stories in peace-meal while minimally explaining how the other characters are related to each other. The film is filled with subliminal text, and hidden messages that include multiple references to Exodus 8:2, Magnolias pictures appearing in every location and musical interlude consistencies with characters. The movie is a masterpiece, and done in a similar vein to how Nashville was directed in the 70s. The movie is quite original, but the performance and direction of the film make it for quite a compelling watch.

Extremely well acted from an amazing cast. So much going on and all brought together seamlessly. Over three hours but doesn't seem like it all. I've seen it twice now and I usually don't like long movies.

I really like shooting style of Paul Thomas Anderson, and in this regard Magnolia is amazing, camera angles, cuts, long shots, the sequences plans, the soundtrack, the way the sound Trina is used, sometimes as background, sometimes inlaying or against point the scene, or even sung by the characters is amazing, the performances are very good, especially the Melora Walters, But Magnolia has serious rhythm problems, you do not feel the evolution of history after two hours of film, half of people sleep or exchange channel, the script also at first is confused, and in the course of the story he is lost in himself, but after a while you get used to this confusion, even with these problems the script presents us with vairios problems with different actors, and one of them you will be identified, and the film quite conversation with your viewers. Magonolia is not for any public, magnolia is the typical movie to movie buff.

Many view the film as overlong and convoluted although PTA's direction and script alongside the great ensemble cast make Magnolia a very well-paced and intriguing film where all the stories are equally gripping.

I thought about Book of Job when I watched this movie. The manifested forms of suffering ranged from the physical (such as dying and disease), psychological (past abuses, current self-inflicted addictions, parental control, spousal disharmony), and spiritual (the maimed soul by cruelty and neglect, in the case of the character by Tom Cruise, and others), and the tangled web through the interactions of human beings with one and other through chance and chaos.

The rain of fogs has a touch of cosmic mystery both awesome and terrifying, but the storm of frogs changes the mental and physical reality of people endured in the storm. Some decks are reshuffled and given another chance to play it right; some are wiped away, while some remain the same. However, the movie is ultimately optimistic in the power of human love and forgiveness in making life meaningful and endurable. The divine power in this film is not the cuddling micro-manager of sweetness, but a stern, inscrutable force giving human the full lot of freewill, redeemed only the the potentiality of love and forgiveness. It is up to us to make heaven or hell in our own lives; we don't need hereafter to know where we live in the Dantesque Comedy here on earth. The Freewill reigned supreme in those cruel old men who inflicted so much damage to their children. That is true Freewill, unadulterated by wishful-thinkings. That is the darkness of human souls. The next generation may continue, given the inheritance of their anger and pain, to inflict new pain upon their own children. Cruise's character is the manifestation of burying deep suffering through inflicting suffering. However is also reign supreme in the act of love and compassion of hospice nurse, the policeman, and the trophy wife played by Moore.

A movie overly reliant on its great performances that demands a lot from the viewer even when it doesnt give enough for the viewer to really care for the deeper meaning of these interesting but strangely paced and overly complicated plots that while necesary can easily be unrewarding by its conclusion.

Magnolia is a movie that eventhough it's awfully long, it manages to stay interesting the whole time. I think it's the format, in which you get a little bit of different stories at times, which helps to not get tired of one. There's clearly a fast pace too. I was actually really considering this being the best PTA movie, until the frogs scene. I know PTA loves the symbols and deep meanings, but it just feels completely unnecessary up until that point. It doesn't really add up or change anything in the plot. It just takes you out of the movie and reminds you it's a movie.

Magnolia is a film that will explicitly transcend the typical plot of a movie-for better or for worse. Following a cast of characters for a single day in Los Angeles, their lives intersect and crash into each other. As pressures of the day cause them to irrevocably change their lives, they all must face the consequences down the road and meet their new realities. While no singular conflict exists, there are numerous parallels between the stories that unfold onscreen, among which, most notably, is a broken parent-child relationship: Tom Cruise plays a misogynistic strong man who gives testosterone filled speeches for men on how to seduce women, and it all becomes too clear his actions stem from the absence of his now dying father (Jason Robards). That father has a all-too-helpful nurse (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and a now regretful trophy wife (Juliane Moore). On a seemingly unrelated story, John C. Reiley is a by-the-rules, bumbling cop who falls for Claudia (Melora Walters), who has her own drug and attachment issues from a less than perfect father (Philip Baker Hall). That father hosts a game show with children whose current star (Jerry Blackman) is facing abuse by his own father. Meanwhile, a past child star (William H. Macy) now has financial issues from his parents squandering his winnings and must face his own emotional troubles. In what plays like a sophisticated Lifetime drama, these characters come to face their pasts and hope for a brighter future. However, with a confusing yet no less inspired ending, director Paul Thomas Anderson leaves the film as a question as to what is truly possible in connections and in relationships. Throughout the film, there are anecdotes about incredible coincidences and discussions about the fundamentals of movie plotpoints. Anderson leaves us wondering whether these resolved endings are truly possible in life. While it could be seen as a commentary on the ridiculousness of how some movies end, I have no doubt it is an inspiring message that allows people to try to achieve those happy endings that sometimes seemed to be trapped in the films we love to watch. Magnolia is a very competent film: using songs by Aimee Mann, the film never falters from the bittersweet tone that encompasses life. Anderson utilizes the camera to never leave a dull moment, but by far, these actors' performances stand out above all. In what can only be described as Williams-esque, each actor gives a fully flushed out emotional journey that leaves not one person questioning the authenticity of each particular feeling. Tom Cruise particularly stands out, with a complexity and development that could surmount to the best of his career. All in all, Magnolia can hold its own. Although dragging its feet at times with filler, the entire experience is an enjoyable one; it's a film that will keep the characters in your heart, and its blatant, but no less timeless lessons in your life.